Connecticut western news., 1887-11-30
A DAILY. PARADE.
Government Employees Quitting
 Work in Washington.

OoVCI lllIlt1lt GlIlpAOyCo OulIIlliS
 Work in Washington.
 The Curious Spectacle Present
 ed at the Hour of Four.
 There are some queer sights about ths Government departments daily when the hour of arrives and the 10, 600 of Uncle Sam's servants turn out on dress parade, writes Washington correspon- dent. You do not get so good view of them in the morning as they go in, for they are more scattered then. The timid ones begin to come along nearly half an hour before time to begin work in the morning, and they struggle in until after nine o'clock. But at night there is no struggling. They are promptly on time, and when the hand points to they make beo line for the door. By half-past three to a quarter of four work is laid aside and prepara- tions are made for lightning disappear ance when the moment for disappear ance comes.
 The scenes outside the buildings arc as curious as those within. By 3.45 you see in front of every building number of vehicles of varied description wait ing. Some are handsome, stylish In fact, driven by fine teams and liveried drivers. They are the carriages of the heads of the departments or their assist ants. They are, most of them government turnouts. Then there is another class of carriages; smaller, less expensive and less stylish. Yet they are more attrac- tive to the average person, for they are often driven by handsome lady, the wife or sister or daughter of the clerk for whom each is waiting. There is another and more touching sight. It is another class of waiting people. They are son foot; women and children who have come to greet ''father" and escort him home.
 They are a curious study as they pour out by the thousands and scatter through the streets. That stately look. ing individual who walks to the carria 20 in digniied way, as though he were afraid of breaking, is either head of department or assistant. See how defer entially the clerks boar themselves tow ard him. If they are as fortunate as to catch his eye they doff their hats with a vigor quite surprising in its comparison with the energy. exhibited at the. desk by this same individual. That individ- ual who prec,des the secretary, open ing doors and lowing obsequiously as he enters the carriage, and tho door i: closed behind him, is the messenger at his office. He blacks his masters boots, brushes his clothes, brings him his lunch from the restaurant in the build ing, and jumps to help him on with his overcoat when he sees him ready to start out.
 That other dignified person, who carries bouquet in his haud, is not the head of the department. He i: division chief or head of bureau. He feels just as good overit, however, as tho head of the department feels in hi: place. He is the recipient of as much attention in his way from his own sub- ordlnates as the secretary gets, and en joys it moro. That bouquet which he is carrying home to his wife-or somebody elsc--was placed on his desk by some o his subordinates who hoped to make their $100 a month job more secure by it., And that elegant "shine" was placed on his boot by a gentleman with similar ambitions regarding his $60 { month job. The giver of the bouquet is probably following along in easy dis. tancc hugging himself with secret de light at having made a new point in his efforts to m ike himself ''solid with ths old man."
 The procession as it comes out is s curious mixture. Pretty young girls, with rosy cheeks and shining eyes; plump and pleasing widows, whose eye: are as active as those of their younger sisters; lean old maids who are hurrying home to their cats and parrots; young dapper men with dude collars and canes who make eyes at the pretty girls a; they go by; smirking old wid overs, wh' are trying to catch the eye of some plump widow; rummy and seedy ol( sinners, whose m-blossomcd noses ane unsteady steps tell very we'll what is tn matter with them.
 There are some touching sights, too The smile on the face of the man il threadbare but we'll brushed clothes when he sees the faces of group o children waiting for him, the empt sleeve, the crutch, the wooden leg which poorly support the worn out ol' soldier; the pretty girl on crutches whom everybody pities for her mis fortune; the lunch basket, the hollow cough and wasted cheek of men ant women slowly dying from disease con tracted by long hours in close rooms. Applied Proverbs.